Reel to reel deck -Talk me in or out of buying

I'm enjoying all the comments here, but makes it more difficult, waiting for my fully restored Ampex 351 to be completed.

Mine will have a custom CNC machined head block to accommodate both half and quarter track playback. Also interchangeable to half track record / play.

YES, it is all tube circuit :^).

cool images of Ampex

Scroll down to 7th and 8th images for great shots of some restored 351's. This is not the guy restoring mine but both he and this guy are at the top of the heap for this type of work.

Every time someone shows up at CES or THE Show with an Ampex 351 as source, visitors break out into big grins and I've witnessed spontaneous dancing (I'm not kidding). There is something magic about the old Ampex tube machines.

Having had several, I long ago realized that someone could make some serious money by offering a great looking front panel with lights. The rest of the electronic stuff could be eliminated to save weight and cost. The delux model could even have motors to wind and rewind. I know of no one who seriously uses a r to r after the first few times. That said, why not if you can afford it used since you can than resell it when it gathers enough dust. It probably has something to do with "stereo envy" because our mother listened to eight track.

Kkurtis, I would suspect that lots of us use R-R decks on a regular basis. Otherwise, why are all those tapes -- the good ones at least, not the junk -- snapped up at increasingly higher prices on Ebay? I have two Teacs, one with a Dolby capability, and can assure you that they see a lot of service. Dave

@Steveaudio: A word of wisdom as George Harrison said: ALL things must pass - so you aren't the first to have this found out.

RTR was dear to my heart at one point as it was my main source for many years. I have a Tandberg 9200XD that is out of service due to the heads being worn out.

As long as we have a few RTR folks here...anyone know my options to get it back into service? I checked on a repair maybe ten years back and it was near the original purchase price(1976). Anyone know a better way?
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